Us Girls

We unloaded the plane-- everything onto this truck. Our amazing pilot, Pinky, is crouching in front. He is Melissa's dad, in case you didn't know.Chilling out on the sand bar.

Snorkelling near Johnny's island.

This is at Staniel Cay Island-- we ate lunch here one day at the "Yacht Club." I put it in quotes because it is very modest little restaurant.

What's a girl's trip without a trip to The Cheesecake Factory?

I would love to post lots more pictures and details, but I need to leave a little for Ashley and Melissa.

Fowl Cay and surrounding islands

Fowl Cay. The long strip is, of course, the runway. The 2 houses at the bottom of the picture are the sleeping house and the kitchen/living room house. the beach to the right is the one we hung out at. The house in the middle of the island is the caretaker's cottage.

Little Hall's Pond Cay. Johnny Depp's island from the air.

Here is a close-up of one of the beaches of Johnny's island.

This is at Samson Cay Island. There's a little grocery store here...and lots of yachts "park" here for re-fueling, getting groceries, etc.

"Pig Island"-- these pigs come out to greet you-- and they swim up to the boat! Of course, they're looking for food, but we didn't bring any with us.

My first anxiety attack...

Before I share the amazing details/pics of my recent "girls trip", I have to share about the miracle of me actually getting to Miami. One of the reasons I was so needing to get there THAT night, was because we were heading out first thing in the morning to go to Fowl Cay, the Munz's island in the Bahamas. I couldn't miss it.

It's a LONG story, so get ready...

My flight was supposed to leave on Thursday at 2pm. Wednesday evening, we had a HUGE storm. There were even tornadoes in the area...we never had to take cover, but it was close. The storms lasted through the night and until about 11am on Thursday morning. I was a bit concerned that my flight might be delayed, with all the weather that had been going through. I called the airport around 10am to check the status of things, and so far, everything was running smoothly. HA. So, my dad picked me up with the boys at noon, and we headed for the airport. I had only packed a carry on, just to make things quicker and to avoid the ticketing counter. I decided to call the airline on the way, just to see how things were looking (clouds were crystal clear by this time)...and to see what gate I was to leave out of. Flight cancelled. WHAT!?!?!?! No big deal, there were 3 more flights that night. She went ahead and confirmed me on the 5pm flight. I decided to go ahead and go to my parnets house so that I didn't have to wait all afternoon at the airport. Around 2, I decided to call and check the status of that flight. Cancelled. Again, WHAT??!?!?! No big deal, they said they'd book me on the 7:20pm flight. I did find out that there was a 11am flight that was still delayed, and would be until around 4:30pm. I decided that there was no use sitting around the house, with the boys asleep. I needed to be at the airport to try to talk my way onto one of those planes. I got to the airport around 3. Thank goodness I had only a carry on bag, and I had already printed my boarding pass. I skipped right through the MASSES of people in the ticketing area, straight through security.

As I approached the gate, I knew there would be ZERO chance of me getting on that flight. There were already 98 people on the standby list, and it was an oversold flight. I was a bit disappointed b/c I hated getting to Miami at 11pm, but at least I was confirmed on the flight, so I didn't have to worry about going standby. As soon as they made the final announcement that the flight was closed, I decided to go ahead and head on over to the gate where my 7:20pm flight was to depart from. I was one of the first ones there to get my seat assignment, etc. It was then that she informed me that I was, in fact, NOT confirmed on this flight. She was going to put me on the standby list, which at this point, had reached 150 because all the other passengers on the other standby list, had carried over onto this one. And, it was another oversold flight. This is when my anxiety attack started. I tried to sweet talk her, cry, tell her that I HAD to get to Miami tonight. I told her that I had a flight out the next morning that I couldn't miss. "What airline?" she wanted to know. "Um, a private charter flight" was my answer. That didn't help getting sympathy from her! So, I left the desk with tears rolling down my cheeks, feeling defeated. I found the quietest table I could find, plopped myself down, and SOBBED. Oh, and the 9pm flight had been cancelled.

I decided that I would call American Airlines just to see if there was anything they could do for me. What else was I going to do? The automated message said it would be a 20 minute hold time....and while I was holding, I remembered that I HAD FORGOTTEN MY PASSPORT!!! **swear words** This, of course, was vital in getting to the Bahamas. While I was sure I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, I figured it couldn't hurt to get that passport, just in case a miracle were to happen. Thank goodness for iPhones and being able to text while on the phone. I texted back and forth with my mom and arranged for my dad to go to my house and get my passport and bring it to me at the airport. Finally, a lady picked up. I explained the whole situation to the nice lady on the phone. She looked, and said, "well, I can't believe this, but there is 1 open seat. I can give it to you right now and confirm you on the flight." I tried not to get too excited just in case it were to fall through. I cried in her ear and told her that she was the nicest lady I had ever talked to... words can't describe how I felt. Shaking, I headed back to the gate to see about getting a boarding pass. I honestly thought I was going to hyperventilate or pass out or something... Same lady. Yep, I was confirmed. I got a seat, a boarding pass, and a new lease on life! My dad got to the airport with my passport, with plenty of time to spare.

The flight didn't end up leaving until about 9, and I didn't arrive into Miami until 1am, but I was there. The fun could begin.

Much needed Girl Time!

I am leaving tomorrow for my 6th Annual Girls' Trip! My best friend, Ashley, just made a post about it, so instead of me writing the same thing, read here about our traditions! Like Ashley, I too, am a bit anxious about leaving my sweet boys.

The crazy thing is that it has been 10 years since we started living together at Covenant. I can't believe we've been such good friends for so long (well, Ash I have been friends appx 22 years, depending on who is telling the story).

Thankful for my boys!

Last night, after I finished working, we took the boys to the pool. I finish working at 7, and the pool closes at 8. It's not too crowded, not too hot, and a nice way to spend some time after dinner and before bedtime (Plus, it really tires the kids out so that there is no fussing when it's bedtime!)

We were in the pool playing around, and I noticed 3 little girls playing together. They were probably 7 or 8 years old (maybe younger?). At one point, 2 of the girls were separated slightly from the other girl-- and they were right near me so that I could hear what they were saying. Here is the conversation I overheard:
Girl 1: "Don't tell 'girl #3' but you are my best friend
Girl 2: "Am I your #1 best friend?"
Girl 1: "Yes, #1. But don't tell anyone, ok?"
Girl 3: [swimming over] "what are you guys talking about?"
Girls 1&2: "oh, nothing."

Girls are so mean to each other!

The Fruits of my Labor

Well, this is my first year to have a "garden". I say "garden" because I don't really have much-- 3 tomato plants, 2 strawberry plants, and 1 blueberry plant. The blueberry plant has yet to produce anything, although it is alive and is growing a bit. The strawberry plants have produced 4 very delicious strawberries... I'm hopeful that next year they will give me more. But they are alive, growing, and that was more than I expected when I started this small venture. I have no pictures of my strawberries because as soon and the boys and I spot a ripe strawberry, there is no time to take pictures. We gobble them/it up!

Now, on to my tomatoes... They are exploding! They have grown to over 6 feet tall. I am half expecting my neighbors to either complain or start picking the tomatoes from their yard because that's really how tall they are. See picture below:

If I had know they would grow THIS tall, I would have put them in the back of my garden. They are stifling my strawberries...

I had been concerned for quite some time that while they were growing and there were TONS of little green tomatoes, they weren't getting big and they weren't turning red. So, I did a little research, and I had planted cherry tomato plants! I knew Sweet Million were supposed to be good, which is why I got them, but didn't know they were tiny. At least nothing was wrong with my plants! Well, last week, they all of sudden started turning red! So, on Sunday, I picked my first little batch of cherry tomatoes, and boy were they yummy! There is not much better than home grown tomatoes!

I know this might seem like a piddley amount of tomatoes, but for me, this is super exciting. I've never grown anything. Shoot, I don't even have any live plants in my house because I forget to water them! So, this is huge for me.